Paddling at Ninigret Salt Pond

Today we finally got to go to the new launch on Ninigret. We go there often for walks and it is a beautiful place that the state took over and made into a wildlife sanctuary. The pond is actually big, and it is state park and private homes, so lots of nice areas to paddle.

The tide was still low, so the launch was mushy marsh and stunk, lol. Bill had to push me out since I would have gotten stuck in the muck. I have carbon paddles and you do not use them for pushing. They are lightweight so perfect for me on long paddles, but they are more delicate and I do not want to damage them. The launch is in a protected cove and then it opens up into the main pond. We stuck to the shoreline and I loved seeing the comorants on the rocks and in the water you could see the crabs scurrying around.



We paddled along the shore and then came back a bit to cross over to the other side. We wanted to find a place to land and cross over the dunes to the ocean. But, all the areas would mean lugging our boats down paths and then across to the beach areas, so we gave up on that idea. The water was teaming with Jelly fish, so I would not swim in that section. There was a huge Blue crab, but he would stay still and sped along the bottom, sideways. With the bright sun and the water movement, it was hard to get any good pictures of the creatures living under the water.



We decided to head for the breakers and take a break there. We paddle back down and found the cove, well we thought we did. We noticed it was awful low and wondered how a big boat could get down this way, and we should have known, it was a dead end. But, it was a pretty area anyways.



This is the real breakway. This is where the boats come in and out of the pond to and from the ocean. The tide was coming in, so the current was strong. I stayed on the side until we came to the rocks and then dragged my boat to our spot.



Here is where we stayed for a bit, nice and sandy and a little rocked off area to take a cool dip in.
It also had a nice view of the entrance so we could watch the boats coming and going.







I walked over the dunes and you could see the ocean from there, but the island was hidden with fog today.
A few people were enjoying the beach, but it is not crowded on this side, which is nice.



This is the view looking down the beach. It is a really long beach, about 3 miles long. The only way to get to this end is down a bumpy dirt road, so most people stay at the farther end.



On the other side of the breakers is a state campground. Trailers stacked up on top of each other and the beach is wall to wall people. I like my side better:) It was beautiful day, though hot and I did a lot of heavy paddling, but the sore muscles were well worth it;)